According to the Central Administration of Statistics (CAS), Lebanon’s average inflation rate rose by 5.36% y-o-y, compared to an average inflation rate of 4.77% recorded by March 2018.
The average costs of “Housing and utilities” (including: water, electricity, gas and other fuels), which grasped a combined 28.4% of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), rose by 5.20% year-on-year (y-o-y) by March 2018. In details, average “Owner-occupied”rental costs constituted 13.6% of this category and increased by 4.23% y-o-y. As for the average prices of “Water, electricity, gas, and other fuels”(11.8% of the Housing & utilities component), they rose by an annual 6.13% over the same period, mainly due to the increase in average oil prices.
Moreover, the average prices for “Food and non-alcoholic beverages” (constituting 20% of the CPI) and “Education” costs (6.6% of CPI) registered yearly upticks of 3.69% and 3.95% by Q1 2018. The average price of “Transportation”(grasping 13.1% of the CPI) gained an annual 5.33%.
Average Yearly Inflation Levels by Q1
Source: CAS